A call of nature

Paul Tillsley - Head of Conservation & Education

I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year today. The trickling notes of this tiny summer migrant filled the air at the League’s St Johns Wood wildlife sanctuary. I was there to check on the progress of contractors thinning out some of the maturing Sitka Spruce trees, but as usual I got distracted by the wildlife. Stonechats perched on top of bushes ‘chatting’, whilst at the tops of trees Chiffchaffs chirped out their repetitive chant. As I walked along the bridleway a Meadow Pipit flew up issuing a disgruntled ‘pipit, pipit’ as it went. I am not an expert in birdsong, so I appreciate it when birds obligingly call out their own name. Overhead there was the distinctive ‘kronking’ of a raven as it passed lazily by and in the distance there was the unmistakable mewing of a buzzard. In our busy and noisy world many people have lost the ability to hear birdsong, let alone identify the species, and it is such a pity that they miss out on nature’s chorus.

The pond in St Johns Wood was constructed as a water source in case of fire, but it too was brimming with life. Pond Skaters scooted across the surface, water boatmen rowed along just below the surface and diving beetles rose to the surface to grab some air before diving back down to the depths. Tadpoles wriggled around in the shallows and newts made the most of the sunshine to continue with their breeding activities.

Back at Baronsdown a Roe buck has taken up residence in the woods. Shy and solitary by nature, it is always a pleasure to have a chance encounter with a buck, a doe or a kid on one of the League’s sanctuaries. Unfortunately, there are still a couple of packs of buckhounds on Exmoor that continue to chase and kill Roe Deer for sport.

Primroses are the flower of the moment on Baronsdown. The Primrose is literally the prima rosa or the first flower of spring. Primrose Day is officially 19th April, but no one has told the flowers and great swathes of them festoon the hedgebanks and steeply sloping fields.

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Positive measures to protect animals have been announced by the government today. The Animal Welfare Bill 2018 includes an increase in sentencing for animal abuse from a maximum of six months jail to five years, and also states that animal sentience must be recognised in any future laws.

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Positive measures to protect animals have been announced by the government today. The Animal Welfare Bill 2018 includes an increase in sentencing for animal abuse from a maximum of six months jail to five years, and also states that animal sentience must be recognised in any future laws.

This blog post corrects many errors published in a December 2017 Metro’s article about fox hunting, in which it confuses trail hunting, drag hunting and clean boot hunting. The post sets the record straight regarding recent incidents of hunt violence and intimidation, and rebukes some of the mistruths perpetuated by the pro-hunt lobby.

Wildlife crime, including the chasing and killing of animals using loopholes in the law, came under the microscope when the League Against Cruel Sports joined forces with the police at a prestigious conference this weekend.

A county council in West Sussex has banned new tenants from using cruel and indiscriminate snares to capture live animals on its land. The ban came into force this summer and is attracting interest from other councils across the UK.

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As a team, we share the same passion – to stop animal cruelty in the name of sport. We are a tight knit team and we work hard within a fun, relaxed environment. We also offer something many employers don’t – an office full of friendly dogs!

Hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2004, but the law has never been properly enforced, and attempts to weaken or repeal it continue. The hunting law in Scotland is weak, and hunting is still legal in Northern Ireland.

Hurting and killing animals for ‘sport’ is one of the principal causes of animal cruelty in the UK: tens of millions suffer and die each year for ‘leisure’ activities. We’re here to protect those animals.

Bullfighting is perhaps the most well known spectator “sport” involving the killing of animals for entertainment. It has already been banned in most countries, but each year tens of thousands of bulls are maimed, tortured and killed for entertainment in Spain, Portugal, France, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.

The hidden side of greyhound racing includes dogs kept for long periods in lonely kennels, painful injuries from racing and training, illness and neglect. Shockingly, thousands of surplus dogs die or disappear every year. The League believes dogs should not suffer or die for entertainment or for the profit of the dog racing industry.

The Hunting Act 2004 is the law which bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales – this basically means that fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting are all illegal, as they all are cruel sports based on dogs chasing wild mammals.